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EMS Energy Institute Strategic Plan 2008/09 through 2012/13
Our Vision The EMS Energy Institute will be a global
center of excellence in the research and
development of energy sciences and
technologies, in generating and disseminating
knowledge on clean carbon and hydrogen-
based energy, and in the research training of
tomorrow's energy professionals.
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Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................... i
Introduction ........................................................... 1
Our Vision.......................................................1
Our Mission ....................................................1
Supporting Institutional Goals ............................... 1
Institute Framework ..............................................2
Organizational Structure.................................2
Research Focus Areas .............................. 2
Operational Structure.................................2
Historical Trends.............................................3
Research Profile ........................................3
Internal Funding.........................................8
Student Diversity........................................9
Infrastructure............................................11
Strategic Goals ...................................................11
1) Infrastructure Modernization.....................11
2) Clean Energy and CO2
Research Initiatives ......................................12
3) Human Resources Expansion..................13
4) Student Education/ Diversity ....................13
5) Enhance Energy Outreach .......................15
Strategic Performance Indicators........................16
Recycling Plan ....................................................16
Strategic Investment Plan ...................................16
Concluding Remarks...........................................17
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The EMS Energy Institute is a research unit committed to providing academic and technical leadership in research and development of clean energy technologies, furthering the energy mission of the University, and educating the public about these technologies. The EMS Energy Institute provides Penn State students with the experience of conducting research within a diverse community of faculty and staff, while fostering strong relationships with industries and government agencies. In the past decade, the Institute has been a leading unit within the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences with respect to research funding.
The EMS Energy Institute has developed strategic initiatives and goals focused around five main topics: infrastructure modernization; clean energy and CO2 research initiatives; enhancing research training and diversity of students; expanding human resources; and facilitating energy outreach.
To advance the capabilities and reputation of the Institute, infrastructure modernization is the highest priority item for the EMS Energy Institute. It has been recognized that one of the major limits to growth of research in EMS Energy Institute and the faculty in related departments, particularly the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, is the significant lack of space and the aging facilities that are needed to support faculty and student research. Key goals proposed for the College and University include acquiring and renovating space to incorporate new faculty and new graduate students for experimental research and to assist current faculty in expanding their research activities, planning for an ‘EMS’ Energy Building (long-term), investing in facilities to enhance research training of undergraduate and graduate students, and recruiting and retaining energy professionals and support technicians for training graduate and undergraduate
students in energy conversion equipment and analytical systems.
To strengthen the research capability and enhance the national and international leadership in energy research, a broad range of clean energy and CO2 research initiatives will be developed that includes the traditional strength areas and new and emerging fields in conversion and utilization of fossil and renewable energy sources as well as environmental protection.
To support the University’s goals and mission with respect to student education and diversity, the EMS Energy Institute proposes to expand the Office of Student Development (OSD) by obtaining funds to expand research activities for undergraduate students, developing graduate students through the undergraduate program, increasing support for undergraduate research, becoming more integrated with departments, and addressing each of the challenges outlined in ‘A Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State’. To accomplish these goals, the EMS Energy Institute proposes the conversion of the OSD directorship to a full-time position with co-funding from the College, and further proposes to the College the establishing of energy ambassadors in various Penn State departments.
To support the University’s outreach goals, the EMS Energy Institute proposes to provide resources to its newly formed Office for Energy Outreach to develop joint appointments with Penn State Outreach, produce and distribute energy information through various media outlets including newsletters and a restructured website, and develop seminar series and workshops.
The EMS Energy Institute recognizes that resources are limited and will develop a principle investigator incentive plan to increase faculty productivity.
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INTRODUCTION The EMS Energy Institute is a research-based unit within Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) and a supporting unit of the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE). The Institute is committed to providing academic and technical leadership in the development and assessment of clean energy technologies, and educating the public about those technologies. The demand for these technologies is ever increasing and is accompanied by the continual need for well-educated energy professionals. The EMS Energy Institute provides Penn State students with the unique experience of conducting research within a diverse community of faculty and staff, while fostering strong relationships with various industries and government agencies – relationships critical to nurturing career opportunities.
Our Vision It is the vision of the EMS Energy Institute to be a global center of excellence in the research and development of energy sciences and technologies, in generating and disseminating knowledge on clean carbon and hydrogen-based energy, and in the research training of tomorrow’s energy professionals.
Our Mission The main mission of the EMS Energy Institute is to conduct research for developing advanced sciences and technologies for conversion and utilization of energy resources and for energy-related environmental protection. An important part of our mission is to provide research training of graduate and undergraduate students and young professionals and facilitate energy outreach to society at large.
The philosophy behind our mission is that we need to assist the nation and the world in meeting the growing demands for clean energy technologies and skilled energy professionals. We foster strong relationships with industry and government agencies in support of the research efforts by faculty and students.
The EMS Energy Institute's activities comprise a wide range of research initiatives such as carbon materials, clean fuels and catalysis, petroleum and natural gas, stationary power systems, sustainable energy, transportation systems, hydrogen and fuel cells, CO2 capture and sequestration, biomass conversion, nuclear energy, industrial health and safety, and expanding the use of our indigenous
resources in a more efficient and environmentally-friendly manner.
SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL GOALS The EMS Energy Institute, cognizant of the goals and strategies of the University, developed its strategic goals for 2008/2009-2012/2013 with these in mind. The EMS Energy Institute supports the University’s strategic goals including its commitment reaffirmation to the six general goals outlined in the University’s current strategic plan, “Fulfilling the Promise: The Penn State Strategic Plan”, which are:
• Enhance academic excellence through the support of high-quality teaching, research, and service;
• Enrich the educational experience of all Penn State students by becoming a more student-centered University;
• Create a more inclusive, civil, and diverse University learning community;
• Align missions, programs, and services with available fiscal resources to better serve our students and their communities;
• Serve society through teaching, research, and creative activity and service; and
• Develop new sources of non-tuition income and reduce costs through improved efficiencies.
In addition, the EMS Energy Institute supports the strategic initiatives of the University’s fund raising campaign, “For the Future, The Campaign for Penn State Students”, which are:
• Ensuring student opportunity; • Enhancing honors education; • Enriching the student experience; • Building faculty strength and capacity; • Fostering discovery and creativity; and • Sustaining a tradition of quality.
The EMS Energy Institute also supports the College in its implementation of a major new energy strategy to propel EMS into even greater international prominence in energy. This includes supporting the College in the development of its “Clean Carbon Energy” initiative.
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INSTITUTE FRAMEWORK The EMS Energy Institute has become a leading research unit within the College while providing students a rich educational experience, providing a diverse and productive learning environment, increasing student diversity, and facilitating opportunities for faculty to increase their external research funding. In 2007, the EMS Energy Institute became one of the PSIEE and, in the last quarter of 2007, was a key participant in developing the Chevron Corporation Alliance with the first three projects to be funded by Chevron developed by EMS Energy Institute faculty or affiliated faculty.
Organizational Structure Research Focus Areas. The EMS Energy Institute is currently structured around seven thematic areas. These focus areas, established in 2000 and modified in 2007, provide a nucleus around which programs are developed and marketed and facilitate an interdisciplinary research environment for students and faculty. The thematic areas are:
• Carbon Materials; • Clean Fuels and Catalysis; • Electrochemical Systems; • Petroleum and Natural Gas; • Stationary Power Systems; • Sustainable Energy; and • Transportation Systems.
In addition, there are research funding-based centers, consortiums, or programs in the EMS Energy Institute. This includes the Consortium for Premium Carbon Products in Coal (CPCPC), Stripper Well Consortium (SWC), Gas Storage Technology Consortium (GSTC), West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF), Center for Quantitative Imaging (CQI), and G3 Center.
Organizing the Institute around these focus areas has been successful. The Institute has seen an increase in the various technical areas of projects that have been funded, external research funding has increased, new initiatives have been developed, more inter-disciplinary projects have been implemented, and marketing of the Institute has become easier. However, these thematic areas will be modified to reflect new focus areas that the EMS Energy Institute will be pursuing as discussed in the Strategic Goals section. In addition, these changes will reflect new research areas that Institute personnel have moved
into in the last year with research in these areas anticipating to continue.
Currently, the faculty members affiliated with the EMS Energy Institute include those in the College’s departments of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Geosciences, Geography, and Meteorology, and several faculty members outside the College of EMS. In November 2007, the EMS Energy Institute became a part (affiliate) of the university-wide Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment that was formulated in November 2006 by incorporating energy into the then Penn State Institutes of the Environment. This was a result of the University Energy Task Force report and recommendations in 2006.
Operational Structure. The EMS Energy Institute’s operational structure consists of six offices/centers. They have been established to: facilitate student research and education; provide administrative support in proposal preparation, budget management, and project management; and provide analytical and technical support to students and faculty. The support units are:
• Office of the Director/Associate Director;
• Administrative Support; • Analytical Research Group; • Office for Energy Outreach; • Office of Student Development; and • Technical Pool Support.
Overall the operational structure has been successful; however, as discussed in the Strategic Goals section, there are resources needed and changes to the structure required to enhance some of the offices to ensure continuing improvements in student education and support. In implementing the previous strategic plan, the Office of Student Development (OSD) and Technical Pool were established using a combination of EMS Energy Institute funds and permanent funds from Central Administration. While both of these units are successful, they can be further improved as discussed in the Strategic Goals section. Similarly, the Office for Energy Outreach (OEO) was established in 2007 and is the umbrella unit for three consortia run through the Institute (i.e., CPCPC, GSTC, SWC), the WPPSEF, two service/research activities (Hardgrove Grindability Index Standards and the CQI), the Institute’s webmaster and communications specialist, and program development. OEO was established to streamline
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similar activities being performed by the various consortia/subunits but in order to make it a more effective office, expanding this office is necessary and details on how to do so are discussed in the Strategic Goals section.
Historical Trends The EMS Energy Institute is a vibrant research unit of the College as evidenced from its current and historical ranking trends. These trends are summarized in this section.
Research Profile. The success of the EMS Energy Institute in obtaining external research is illustrated in Table 1 and Figure 1, which compare its funding profile to the College. One observation noted is that while the College’s funding has shown an overall increase during the last decade, the Institute’s funding has reached a plateau of approximately $9-12 Million. This is a direct result of space and facilities constraints for the existing faculty and hinders attracting new faculty into the Institute.
College of Earth & Mineral Sciences EMS Energy Institute
Fiscal Year Award Amount # of Awards Award Amount
% of EMS Awards # of Awards College
Ranking
2006/2007 $52.1M 445 $11.5M 22.1 192 2nd
2005/2006 $48.5M 479 $8.7M 17.9 177 2nd
2004/2005 $35.7M 444 $8.9M 24.9 182 1st
2003/2004 $31.8M 427 $11.4M 35.9 196 1st
2002/2003 $35.3M 422 $6.3 M 18.0 140 2nd
2001/2002 $33.7M 427 $12.2M 36.1 154 1st
2000/2001 $32.0M 408 $10.8M 33.6 144 1st
1999/2000 $27.5M 340 $7.9M 28.6 107 1st
1998/1999 $17.3M 304 $3.7M 21.5 71 2nd
1997/1998 $29.3M 297 $7.1M 24.4 33 1st
1996/1997 $19.6M 266 $2.5M 12.7 21 4th
1995/1996 $23.4M 273 $972K 4.1 23 7th
Table 1. Historical Research Funding Profile
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Figure 1. Relationship of EMS Energy Institute Research Funding within the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS)
The Institute’s awards are comprised of research contracts and consortia memberships. Table 2 provides a breakdown of the research awards since 1996. The consortia memberships, while an excellent indicator of the extent of industrial collaborations (approximately 70% of the Institute’s number of awards), comprise less than 1% of the Institute’s total research award amount in FY06/07. The Institute averages approximately $60,000/research contract based on 192 research contracts and $101,000/research contract based on 113 research contracts when excluding
memberships. This is less than the College’s averages which are approximately $117,000 and $142,000/research contract for 445 and 336 (when excluding EMS Energy Institute memberships) research contracts, respectively. This is a substantial decrease in funding per research contract for the Institute as the Institute and College averaged approximately $130,000 and $88,000/research contract during the previous strategic planning exercise. This is another indication that space and facilities constraints are hampering research at the Institute.
04/05 24.9% of EMS 05/06
17.9% of EMS 06/07 22.1% of EMS
$0
$10M
$20M
$30M
$40M
$50M
$60M
24.4% of EMS 22.6% of
EMS 29.4% of EMS 32.5% of
EMS 35.9% of
EMS 18.1% of EMS 35.9% of
EMS 24.9% of EMS 17.9% of
EMS 22.1% of EMS
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Table 2. Breakdown of EMS Energy Institute Research Awards
The EMS Energy Institute’s funding profile is similar to the University’s as illustrated in Figure 2. Similar to the University’s funding profile, the Institute’s major funding source is the Federal
government. The largest number of research contracts, though, is through industrial sponsorship as shown in Figure 3. The EMS Energy Institute has a vibrant industrial component to its research profile.
Total of EMS Energy Institute
EMS Energy Institute Contracted R&D Industrial Consortia
Fiscal Year Award Amount
# of Awards
Award Amount
# of Awards # of Memberships Membership
Amount
2006/2007 $11.5M 192 $11.4M 113 79 $98K
2005/2006 $8.7M 177 $8.6M 99 78 $67K
2004/2005 $8.9M 182 $8.8M 85 97 $111K
2003/2004 $11.4M 196 $11.3M 87 109 $144K
2002/2003 $6.3 M 140 $6.3M 87 53 $60K
2001/2002 $12.2M 154 $12.1M 88 66 $80K
2000/2001 $10.8M 144 $10.7M 78 66 $107K
1999/2000 $7.9M 107 $7.8M 61 46 $61K
1998/1999 $3.7M 71 $3.6M 28 43 $43K
1997/1998 $7.1M 33 $7.1M 33 N/A N/A
1996/1997 $2.5M 21 $2.5M 21 N/A N/A
1995/1996 $972K 23 $972K 23 N/A N/A
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Figure 2. EMS Energy Institute funding by source, FY06/07
Figure 3. EMS Energy Institute contracts by source, FY06/07
There are 25 tenure-track faculty affiliates, 35 Fixed-Term and Research (FT&R) faculty members, over 55 graduate students, and over 20 undergraduate students working at the EMS Energy Institute. The success of the EMS Energy Institute is due to the synergistic efforts of both the tenure-track and FT&R faculty. Over the last five years, the College has
actively worked towards recognizing the efforts of the FT&R faculty and integrating them into the governance of the College. This, combined with increased collaborations with tenure-track faculty, has resulted in FT&R faculty playing an ever-increasing role in securing and managing projects for the University. This is illustrated in Figure 4.
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Figure 4. Research Funding by Faculty Type
The EMS Energy Institute funding profile is very diverse as shown in Table 3. Historically the Institute’s research was predominately focused on fossil fuels, specifically coal-related activities. While
these activities are still a major strength of the Institute, projects covering a wide range of topics are steadily being secured.
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Table 3. Summary of EMS Energy Institute Projects Funded during FY04/05 through FY06/07
Category Number % of Total Funding % of Total
Coal Projects
Materials 12 $2,343,896
Advanced Characterization 16 $558,880
Fuels/Utilization 10 $10,384,033
Total 38 23.2 $13,286,809 46.0
Petroleum/Natural Gas Projects
Exploration 12 $562,283
Utilization 13 $5,872,080
Total 25 15.2 $6,434,363 22.3
Biomass Projects 12 7.3 $1,009,340 3.5
Renewable Energy Project 1 0.6 $336,813 1.2
Transportation Projects 9 5.5 $1,333,483 4.6 Clean Fuels and Catalysis
Projects 11 6.7 $1,463,676 5.1
Fuel Cell Projects 10 6.1 $826,724 2.9
Sensors/Materials Projects 12 7.3 $1,207,953 4.2
Geoscience Projects 6 3.7 $1,113,967 3.9 Materials Characterization
Projects 24 14.6 $334,288 1.2
Industrial Safety Projects 8 4.9 $250,264 0.9
Hydrogen Projects 5 3.0 $437,867 1.5
Nuclear Projects 3 1.8 $852,142 2.9
Total 164 100% $28,887,689 100%
Internal Funding. The success illustrated in the previous section has been accomplished with a relatively stable general budget. Table 4 lists the historical trend of the Institute’s internal funding, which consists of the general budget, research incentive funds (RIF) generated by research faculty with appointments or joint appointments in the Institute, RIF transferred from the Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering (EGEE), and, in FY03/04, a College change in accounting where the Director’s salary was transferred from a College department directly to the
Institute budget. Note that research incentive funds (RIF) generated by EGEE faculty performing their research at the Institute was transferred to the Institute from FY00/01 through FY02/03, after which time no RIF was transferred from EGEE. Two changes were made in FY06/07 that will enhance planning of activities and the ability to make commitments, such as those for cost sharing on proposals. These changes were: 1) joint faculty appointments were established between the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME [formerly EGEE]) with RIF and salary release
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distributed between the Institute and EME; and 2) a RIF plan was established for Institute-affiliated faculty (EME and other departments) that run their
research through the Institute. The results of these changes are not yet reflected in Table 4 as their effects will first be realized in FY07/08.
Table 4. EMS Energy Institute Internal Funding Sources
Sources of the Institute’s Internal Funding
Fiscal Year Total General EI RIF
EGEE/EME Transferred
RIF
Salary Releaseb
2006/07 $1,076,247 $727,063 $68,233 $31,492a $249,459
2005/06 $1,007,090 $722,232 $64,172 $0 $220,686
2004/05 $734,682 $670,864 $63,818 $0 --
2003/04 $655,545 $655,545 $64,714 $0 --
2002/03 $668,451 $539,581 $28,870 $100,000 --
2001/02 $660,515 $526,323 $34,192 $100,000 --
2000/01 $647,804 $528,772 $19,032 $100,000 --
1999/00 $665,921 $532,069 $133,852 $0 --
1998/99 $616,496 $524,620 $91,876 $0 --
1997/98 $595,605 $517,005 $78,600 $0 --
a Starting July 1, 2008, a formal RIF agreement was established with EME to recover RIF from EME affiliated faculty. b No salary release numbers available until FY2005/2006.
Student Diversity. The EMS Energy Institute recognizes and supports the goal of the University to diversify its student population. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the ethnicity and gender of the Institute’s graduate students and undergraduate student researchers, respectively. One of Penn State’s goals is
to internationalize the curriculum; the Institute is accomplishing this via a diverse student body. The Institute plans to improve upon this by working to increase the enrollment of under-represented groups and minority gender of students is specifically addressed in the Strategic Goals section.
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Figure 5. EMS Energy Institute Graduate Students Ethnicity and Gender, FY06/07
Figure 6. EMS Energy Institute Undergraduate Student Researchers Ethnicity and Gender, FY06/07
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Infrastructure. The EMS Energy Institute maintains approximately 50,400 ft2 of space, which can be categorized into the following: office, laboratory, high-bay, and storage. This is the second largest amount of space in the College comprising about 17% of the total; however, as discussed in the Strategic Goals section, space has become a critical issue at the Institute. For example, approximately 13,029 ft2 and 13,319 ft2 are categorized as high-bay space (which houses its pilot-scale equipment) and laboratory space, respectively, both of which have become constrictive for the ever-increasing energy activities. The last major space addition was in 1992 when the Coal Utilization Laboratory (13,154 ft2) was constructed. This addition allowed for high-bay and some laboratory activities to expand at the Institute; however, as noted in Table 1 and Figure 1, research funding has reached a plateau due to space constraints that are hindering existing faculty to expand their activities or new faculty to become associated with the Institute due lack of facilities available to them. Space has become a major limiting factor, since the amount of space for performing research at the current of level of $9-11 Million/yr is essentially unchanged from the amount available for conducting research when it was at a level of $2-3 Million/yr in the early 1990s (or about 15 years ago).
Many faculty and student researchers are already sharing limited and crowded laboratory space, and we can only offer new faculty members a small portion of a laboratory for their experimental research. Aging facilities are another major issue that hinders further development, and this is in contrast with the situation at some competing major research universities in the U.S. and the world that have recently made or are making major multi-million dollar investments in energy research infrastructure.
STRATEGIC GOALS The EMS Energy Institute, in support of University and College goals, has developed the following strategic directions and goals. This section presents ideas and solutions to problems and issues identified as priority items for the Institute. In addition, new initiatives are discussed. Strategic goals are focused around five main topics: infrastructure modernization; clean energy and CO2 research initiatives; enhancing research training and diversity
of students; expanding human resources; and energy outreach.
1) Infrastructure Modernization Infrastructure modernization is the highest priority item for the EMS Energy Institute. This will be a joint effort with the EMS Dean’s office and other EMS departments. Aging equipment, insufficient and inadequate laboratory space, and lack of energy professionals and support technicians for experimental research and research training of graduate and undergraduate students is hindering expansion of energy initiatives and is directly responsible for the plateau in research funding. Infrastructure modernization priorities include the following.
1a) Investing in facilities to enhance research training of undergraduate and graduate students in the EMS Energy Institute. The most important need of the Institute is to upgrade facilities in order to enhance the research training of students. This includes world-class laboratories and equipment that can be used in the training of students. Enhanced facilities will allow the Institute to provide out-of-classroom experiences to students through senior projects, honor projects, advanced laboratory classes, industrially-sponsored activities, and enhanced graduate student opportunities. Through a multi-year survey, the necessary renovations and supporting equipment have been identified to provide state-of-the-art laboratories for energy research, which is estimated at $4.1 Million for upgraded facilities and $2.5 Million for supporting equipment.
1b) Renovating space to incorporate new faculty and new graduate students for experimental research at the EMS Energy Institute. As a result of the current space constraints at the Institute, a feasibility study was performed to convert offices in Academic Projects Building into laboratory space to provide 12 fumehoods located in five small research laboratories and one large laboratory. This renovation will allow the Institute to host more faculty and graduate students for their experimental research. The estimate is $2 Million for renovations and common laboratory equipment set-up.
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1c) Recruiting and retaining energy professionals and support technicians for training graduate and undergraduate students in energy conversion equipment and analytical systems in the EMS Energy Institute. The Institute needs energy research professionals who are full-time professionals in teaching and supervising students in the operation of various energy conversion-related equipment and analytical systems. In addition, laboratory technicians are needed to provide assistance to students in operating long-duration or larger-scale experiments. Each year, the Institute hosts over 55 graduate students for their graduate research, over 20 undergraduate students for research training in energy, and a number of high school students for introduction to the research experience. The estimate to adequately fund this request is $2 Million.
1d) Construction of an ‘EMS’ Energy Building. A long-term goal, working with the University/ College, is the construction of an energy building. If this building were constructed at the intersection of University Avenue/Hastings Road, for example, it would result in centralized energy research and form an ‘Energy Campus’.
2) Clean Energy and CO2 Research Initiatives The EMS Energy Institute will build upon its strengths and continue to expand into new areas. This will be a collaborative effort with the EMS departments of EME, Material Science and Engineering, and Geosciences, PSIEE, and the Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Agricultural Sciences. Specific initiatives include the following.
2a) Strengthen fossil energy and CO2 research. This includes research areas/ initiatives such as:
• Clean Carbon Energy Initiative addressing strengths such as coal structure and coal conversion*;
• CO2 capture, separation, sequestration, and utilization*;
• Upstream exploration/ production of oil, gas, coalbed methane, and coal, and associated industrial safety;
• Unconventional resources such as gas hydrates and shale gas; and
• Hybrid vehicles.
* Note that we propose establishing a Center for Clean Carbon and CO2 Research to address these initiatives.
2b) Nurture renewable energy research. This includes research areas/ initiatives such as:
• Gasification and pyrolysis of biomass and carbon to clean fuels;
• Solar energy including components and systems;
• New approaches to conversion processing of biofuels; and
• Geothermal energy involving CO2 and geo-systems (e.g., G3 Center, etc.).
2c) Expand energy efficiency and alternative fuels research. This includes research areas/ initiatives such as:
• Develop fuel cell systems including renewables and alternative fuels such as landfill gas, propane gas, and liquid fuels; and
• Facilitate advanced engine combustion research such as HCCI.
2d) Collaborate on nuclear energy and geo-systems research. This includes research areas/ initiatives such as:
• Nuclear energy-based hydrogen production;
• Enhanced heat transfer for nuclear power plants; and
• Safer storage of waste nuclear fuels.
2e) Facilitate research on materials for energy applications. This includes research areas/ initiatives such as:
• Nano-porous and nano-structured materials for energy applications; and
• Advanced characterization for energy materials (e.g., CQI, etc.).
2f) Incorporate energy economics research. This includes research areas/ initiatives such as:
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• Facilitate energy and Greenhouse gases-related economics research; and
• Support the EMS plan for an economics graduate research program.
3) Human Resources Expansion The EMS Energy Institute proposes to expand its human resources base to further energy research and development at Penn State. This will be a collaborative effort with EMS departments, PSIEE, and the Colleges of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences, etc. Specific initiatives include the following.
3a) Enhance and stabilize the faculty expertise base. This will be accomplished through joint faculty appointments with EME and other departments.
3b) Recruit and retain energy professionals. This will be accomplished through infrastructure modernization.
3c) Encourage principle investigator productivity improvement. The EMS Energy Institute recognizes that resources are limited and two main sources of income to the Institute, which are then available to fund faculty requests, are faculty release and RIF. The Institute will develop a principle investigator incentive plan to increase faculty productivity. A committee will be assembled to assess current faculty release, RIF, and requests for funding and identify options for providing incentives to faculty.
3d) Expand the research expertise and capability areas. This will be accomplished by:
• Attracting more faculty affiliates by facilitating collaborative work; and
• Providing support for proposal submissions and budget management.
4) Student Education/Diversity The EMS Energy Institute supports the goals and mission of the University and College with respect to student education and diversity. This will be a collaborative effort with EMS departments, PSIEE, the Colleges of Engineering and Agricultural
Sciences, etc. Specific initiatives include the following.
4a) Expand the Office of Student Development (OSD). The Institute proposed as part of the previous strategic planning process the establishment of an Office of Student Development (OSD) and, subsequently, established the office with a half-time director using internal funds. The office has been successful but it is necessary to expand its activities. The Institute proposes expanding this office through additional resources and programs, including:
• Converting the directorship to a full-time position;
• Establishing energy ambassadors in various Penn State departments;
• Obtaining funds to expand research activities for undergraduate students;
• Developing graduate students through the undergraduate program;
• Increasing support for undergraduate research, including covering tuition;
• Enhancing the diversity of students by attracting more female and minority students via integrated efforts with academic departments (e.g., EME); and
• Becoming more integrated with departments, e.g., EME, and their energy curriculum.
The Institute will also work towards diversifying the educational background of the undergraduate students who work/study at the Institute. The Institute has been successful in this endeavor as illustrated in Figure 7; however, students from other Colleges/ majors that will benefit/ enhance research projects will be targeted for recruitment as well.
The Institute supports the University’s diversity goals/challenges as outlined in ‘A Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State’ recognizing that these goals are currently under review as part of the University strategic planning process. The challenges and the Institute’s response to them are as follows.
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Figure 7. Undergraduate Student Participation by Degree
Note: Blank areas showing no participation reflect areas where students were employed at the Institute during the previous year. The categories were left on the graph to illustrate the breadth and fluidity in number of undergraduate students.
Challenge 1: Developing a Shared and Inclusive Understanding of Diversity. The EMS Energy Institute will address this by:
1. Conveying a clear and consistent description of Penn State diversity objectives and initiatives;
2. Coordinating with EMS Associate Dean of Diversity as well as directors of WEP and MEP;
3. Emphasizing participation of minority and women in opportunities at the Institute; and
4. Participating in SEEMS and Upward Bound (i.e., get faculty commitment to participate each year), which will involve graduate and undergraduate students.
Challenge 2: Creating a Welcoming Campus Climate. The EMS Energy Institute will address this by:
1. OSD acting as a student advocate; 2. Conducting orientation sessions to
welcome students and staff and allow students to provide input into the climate;
3. Adding diversity links to Institute and OSD web pages; and
4. Encouraging women and minority senior undergraduate students and graduate students to mentor underclassman and high school minority students.
Challenge 3: Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Student Body. The EMS Energy Institute will address this by:
1. Participating in outreach/high school programs to attract minority students;
2. Establishing an undergraduate research grant specific for women/minority students;
3. Tracking participation of students in different programs by gender and race; and
4. Actively supporting effort by EMS Associate Dean of Diversity, WEP, and MEP.
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Challenge 4: Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce. The EMS Energy Institute will address this by:
1. Recruiting minority and female students for wage payroll research projects; and
2. Recruiting minority and female staff for leadership and technical roles at the EMS Energy Institute.
Challenge 5: Developing a Curriculum (programs) that Fosters Intercultural and International Competencies. Although the EMS Energy Institute is not directly involved in curriculum development, it will address this by:
1. Developing international internships to offer experiences in different cultural settings;
2. Supporting departments by using the Institute for undergraduate research experiences (e.g., EME’s 2-credit research experience);
3. Promoting participation of/mentoring by undergraduate and graduate students in minority programs such as SEEMS, SROP, etc.; and
4. Mentoring diverse students by diverse graduate students.
Challenge 6: Diversifying University Leadership and Management. Although this is beyond the mission of OSD, The EMS Energy Institute will assist by:
1. The Director of OSD participating in University-level activities that promote diversity (e.g., Northeast Alliance, WISE, etc.) as well as College-level activities (e.g., EMS Diversity Council);
2. Including representation of staff in strategic planning committees, etc. when appropriate; and
3. Assigning a person specifically to address staff/faculty diversity issues, which is likely outside the mission of OSD.
Challenge 7: Coordinating Organizational Change to Support Our Diversity Goals. The EMS Energy Institute will address this by:
1. Enhancing coordination of OSD with faculty within the Institute, within the College (i.e., Associate Dean for Diversity) and between Colleges (e.g., Engineering, Agricultural Sciences) for better communication of opportunities and programs;
2. Increasing collaboration on programs that compliment and not compete with each other; and
3. Funding the OSD demonstrates that Institute’s commitment towards diversity.
4b) Enhance research training of graduate students. This will be accomplished by:
• Improving the research infrastructure for graduate students;
• Providing support to graduate students (e.g., travel awards, etc.); and
• Recruiting and retaining minority and female graduate students.
4c) Contribute to the globalization of graduate education. This will be accomplished by participating in thesis research of overseas degree programs.
5) Enhance Energy Outreach The EMS Energy Institute has identified energy outreach as an important area to focus on. Energy technology transfer and educating the public is become increasingly more important with the rapidly changing energy environment overwhelming the public with information. Some of this information is confusing, too technical, misleading, and incorrect. The Institute recognized this in 2006 and established the Office for Energy Outreach. This was done without assigning resources to it and the first step was to consolidate the current consortia (CPCPC, GSTC, and SWC) and WPPSEF to better coordinate personnel working on them and consolidate activities that had outreach components to them, i.e., Coal Sample Bank, Hardgrove Grindability Index Standard production and sale, and CQI. This preliminary step was successful in that the Directors of the consortia work together to ensure smooth operation using some of the same personnel. The next step in increasing the role of the Office for Energy Outreach is to provide resources to expand the office.
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5a) Maintain the Office for Energy Outreach. This will be addressed by:
• Formally expanding the Office for Energy Outreach;
• Publishing a newsletter; and • Restructuring the website.
5b) Provide outreach to the national and international technical community. This will be accomplished by:
• Developing high-level seminar series; and
• Developing short courses.
5c) Provide energy technology transfer and educate the public on energy. This will be accomplished by:
• Producing and distributing (through existing channels such as Penn State Extension) energy fact sheets;
• Developing alternative media outlets such as pod casts, videos, and workshops; and
• Developing one or more joint appointments with Penn State Outreach to develop and distribute materials and host workshops.
STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE INDICATORS The EMS Energy Institute recognizes the importance of metrics for evaluating performance. Currently the Institute uses several indicators to judge its performance relative to the College, University-wide Institutes, and the University in general. During the next strategic plan period, the Institute will continue to monitor its performance but will also use metrics developed at the College level that are pertinent to research units. In addition, the Institute will assess its strategic performance by a variety of indicators including:
• Amount of external research funding and the number of proposals submitted;
• Number of students, graduate and undergraduate, supported through research funds;
• Ratio of research funds to general funds;
• Ratio of research and general funds to full-time equivalents (FTEs) and students;
• Increased collaboration and participation with academic departments;
• Student reviews of out-of-classroom experiences (e.g., research, field trips, writing opportunities);
• Number of female and underrepresented students at the Institute;
• Number of and increased participation in minority programs;
• Publication records, especially referred journal articles;
• Development of new focus areas; and • Establishing research programs and
collaborations with other Colleges/Departments.
RECYCLING PLAN The EMS Energy Institute has limited options for achieving the University-mandated recycling plan of 1% per year for five years from the General Budget. This translates into approximately $7,700/year or $38,500 for five years. In January 2008, an employee retired who was in a standing staff position. One option is to collapse this position; however, a replacement for this position was hired as a Fixed-Term staff member so the coverage burden would be shifted from the General Budget to the Income Budget (i.e., salary release and RIF). The other option is to have the recycled funds taken from departmental allocation or a combination of the Fixed-Term salary line and departmental allocation.
STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PLAN The EMS Energy Institute’s strategic investment plan for the three options outlined by Central Administration concerning recycled funds, which translates into approximately $19,250, $38,500, or $77,000 over five years, is to: re-invest these funds into the OSD and upgrade facilities that students use to enhance the educational research training of undergraduate and graduate students; identify and attract future graduate students; provide funding to increase the number of undergraduate students involved in research; and provide tuition reimbursement for undergraduate students. With the support from the College, it is also proposed to
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convert the directorship of OSD to a full-time position with the final formula dependant upon the level of commitment given to this office.
CONCLUDING REMARKS The EMS Energy Institute seeks to become a global center of excellence in the research and development of energy sciences and technologies, in generating and disseminating knowledge on clean carbon and hydrogen-based energy, and in the research training of tomorrow’s energy professionals. The major limit to the growth and development of EMS Energy Institute and the partner departments, particularly the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, is the significant lack of space and the aging facilities that are needed to support faculty and student research. The EMS Energy Institute developed its FY2008/2009 to 2012/2013 strategic plan in support of the University’s strategic goals and diversity plans, and the College’s Clean Carbon Energy initiative.
The EMS Energy Institute has developed strategic initiatives and goals focused around five main topics: infrastructure modernization; clean energy and CO2 research initiatives; enhancing research training and diversity of students; expanding human resources; and facilitating energy outreach.
To advance the capabilities and reputation of the Institute, infrastructure modernization is the highest priority item for the EMS Energy Institute. It has been recognized that one of the major limits to growth is the significant shortage of working space and aging facilities. Key goals proposed for the College and University include acquiring and renovating space to incorporate new faculty and new graduate students for experimental research and assist current faculty in expanding their research activities, planning for an ‘EMS’ Energy Building (long-term), investing in facilities to enhance research training of undergraduate and graduate students, and recruiting and retaining energy professionals and support technicians for training graduate and undergraduate students in energy conversion equipment and analytical systems.
To strengthen the research capability and to enhance the national and international leadership in energy research, a broad range of clean energy and CO2 research initiatives will be developed that includes the traditional strength areas and new and emerging fields in conversion and utilization of fossil and
renewable energy sources as well as environmental protection.
To support the University’s goals and mission with respect to student education and diversity, the EMS Energy Institute proposes to expand the Office of Student Development (OSD) by obtaining funds to expand research activities for undergraduate students, developing graduate students through the undergraduate program, increasing support for undergraduate research, becoming more integrated with departments, and addressing each of the challenges outlined in ‘A Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State’. To accomplish these goals, the EMS Energy Institute proposes the conversion of the OSD directorship to a full-time position with co-funding from the College, and further proposes to the College the establishing of energy ambassadors in various Penn State departments.
To support the University’s outreach goals, the EMS Energy Institute proposes to provide resources to its newly formed Office for Energy Outreach to develop joint appointments with Penn State Outreach, produce and distribute energy information through various media outlets including newsletters and a restructured website, and develop seminar series and workshops.
The EMS Energy Institute recognizes that resources are limited and will develop a principle investigator incentive plan to increase faculty productivity.
